Sir Elton John this week was hoaxed by two Russian pranksters who called the rock star and LGBT rights advocate pretended to be Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The call to Elton, which was posted to YouTube (listen HERE), was made after he expressed interest in talking to the Russian president about LGBT rights, following a trip to the Ukraine in which he had spoken at a forum and met with President Poroshenko.
Vladimir Krasnov and Alexei Stolyarov, aka “Vovan and Lexus”, are known for hoaxing celebrities and had Sir Elton fooled enough that he posted about it on Instagram.
Now Elton has responded to the pranksters in another Instagram post, writing:
Pranks are funny.
Homophobia, however is never funny.
I love Russia and my offer to talk to President Putin about LGBT rights still stands. I will always stand up for those that are being degraded and discriminated against.
If this unfortunate incident has helped push this vital issue back into the spotlight, then I am happy to be pranked on this occasion.
